Hipsters: 1902

Advice by cable from the foreign centers of style guide the artists and highly trained workers who are creating Wooltex styles. That's why they lead. That's why a Wooltex garment can be worn in any city in America or Europe with the certainty that it is au fait.

--From The Delineator--

Information is a commodity so valuable that people can be impressed if they merely think you have it.

Breast augmentation: 1902

--From The Delineator--

Perhaps instead of worrying about the sexualization of our culture we should worry when it becomes desexualized.

Spanx: 1893

Elastic ribbed union suits cover the entire body like an additional skin. Fitting like a glove, but softly and without pressure. No buttons down the front. Made for men, women and young people. Most convenient to put on, being entered at the top and drawn on like trousers. With no other kind of underwear can ladies obtain such perfect fit for dresses or wear comfortably so small a corset.

--From The Delineator--

 Being happy with the way your body is, is really kind of unusual.

Exercise: 1902

Soft cooked" cereals are swallowed without the necessary mastication, thus robbing the teeth of their NATURAL exercise, causing weakness and decay. Shredded Whole Wheat Biscuit, being crisp, compels vigorous mastication and causes the NATURAL flow of saliva which is necessary for NATURAL digestion.

--From The Delineator--

From now on, whenever I see the words "nature" or "natural" I will imagine them written in capital letters. They're supposed to be some magic words that make everything okay and good; at least it seems that way with many of the people who use them. (But these mushrooms I picked in the woods are NATURAL, they can't possible be bad for you!)

Mind altering substances: 1902

Miss Annie Avery, a student in Lanrk, Ont., writes: "I know I felt my ill health even more than if I had been engaged in any other work, as the confinement of school only increased my sickness and inability to study.

"Last year I was on the way to a general breakdown in health; I suffered from severe headaches, was becoming a confirmed dispeptic, nervous system broken down, and my condition went on from bad to worse until I was unable to study or even go to school.

"My parents were very anxious about me, as medicine did not help, and mother, hearing about Grape-Nuts, obtained some and I commenced to use it at once...

...I have gained 30 lbs. since using Grape-Nuts and am enjoying good physical and mental health."

--From The Delineator--

It bills itself as a diet cereal today, but back in the day Grape-Nuts was happy to advertise a 30 pound weight gain by one of its "users".

Consumerism: 1661

What sort of toiletries would a person in 1661 be interested in?

A range of hair dyes:

To make your Hair yellow.

To make your Hair red.

To dye Hair black.

pimple cream:

For a red face full of pimples.

tooth whitener:

A powder to keep the teeth white.

deodorant:

Against the ill smell of the arm pits.

skin lighteners:

That the skin may be exceeding white.

and self tanners:

A water to make the face black.

--From Eighteen books of the secrets of art and nature--

But I thought it was only advertising that made people want these things!

Fiji water: 1632

The water of Jordan hath beene transported to Venice in barrels, for that purity it hath; which will reserve unspoiled, both moneths and yeares, and the longer it is kept, it is the more fresher; and to drinke it, is an excellent remedy for the fever quartan or quotidian, being neare in vertue to the Wine of Libanon.

--From The totall discourse of the rare adventures...--

The modern version isn't allowed to make those sort of health claims, but they're kind of assumed.

Brand extensions: 1632

Infinit citations could I produce, of such like intolerable attributs, besides the dividing of her in a 1000 stiles, The Virgin viz. The Lady of the wines, Lady of the oyles, Lady of the cornes, Lady of the woods, Lady of the mountains, Lady of the meeds, Lady of the sheepe and goats, Lady of the springs, Lady of the fire, Lady of the shepheards; from earthquakes, thunder and fire-flashes, Lady of the Angels which is at Asisi in Ombria, Lady of miracles in divers places, Florence, &c. Lady of life in Bullogna newly found, Lady of all noble Ladies, and Nunnes, Lady of the galley-slaves, Lady of shipwracking seas, Lady of rivers and waters, Lady of young children, and orphanes, Lady of all consolation, Lady of pure Virgins, Lady of distressed widdows, Lady of the sicke, and women with child, &c. Besides the powerfull Lady of Mountserrata in Catalogna, the aforesayd miraculous Lady of Loretta, and the clementious Ile-ruling Lady of Trapundy in Sicilia, &c.

--From The totall discourse of the rare adventures...--

Lady of dark chocolate, Lady of diet dark chocolate, Lady of dark chocolate with orange, Lady of easy blog posts...

Health Claims: 1898

You know things are bad when companies are advertising how nonpoisonous their products are.

Herbal Essences: 1898

Now I understand this commercial:

Lose weight fast!: 1898

--From The Black Cat--

See how women have advanced? In the past something like this would be in the back of a magazine. Now it's on the front cover with an incredibly thin celebrity.

Hot food trends: 1911

The appearance of the Hawaiian pineapple in slices on the market, all ready for use, added another base for the preparation of fancy sundaes, which has proved to be exceedingly popular. While pineapple sundaes of this class have been on the market for some time, the trouble of pealing, slicing and preparing the pineapple for use was so great, that but few cared to bother with them.

Here's an advertisement for Dole's pineapple juice:

The ad reads:

Physicians prescribe it in throat, stomach and intestinal trouble. A refreshing drink during fever and convalescence.

So pineapples were also part of a health fad. Instead of curing cancer or Alzheimer's, people thought their food would cure indigestion.

--From The Spatula--

Advertising: 1911

--From The Spatula--

This is actually advertising for advertising. The magazine would invent advertising campaigns for its subscribers and make money selling color prints individuals could add store information to.

And they'd give out freebies:

Readers were instructed to cut out the ad, paste their store information on it, and send it to a local newspaper. There were pages of them and a store owner could pick whichever ones they needed.

Celebrity endorsements: 1915

--From McClure's Magazine--

Soup is fun!

Salt Peter: 1896

The question of diet has much to do with purity in the child, as well as in the adult. This, also, is acknowledged in the Scriptures. The Lord has always provided unstimulating food for his children. All sciences recognize this truth, and every physician of experience will tell you that the unnatural, stimulating diet of today is largely to be blamed for the alarming prevalence of social impurity. Tea, coffee and spices, and more especially the free use of eggs and flesh meat, irritate the nervous system and inflame the passions....

Dr. J. H. Kellogg, in his work entitled "Social Purity," says: "Simplicity in habits of eating, and the avoidance of all stimulating foods, are, with the exception of religion, the most powerful of all aids to purity of life; and, in addition, are most potent correctives of impure tendencies when they are once developed."

--From the educational pamphlet How shall we preserve the purity of our children?--

Who would have thought that cornflakes were supposed to keep you from touching yourself?

Also, what is with that advertisement? A woman is the corn's "sweetheart"? I don't even want to think about how that works.

And now a word from our sponsor, 1520 edition

From right to left: Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, the man who paid for the painting.